Book Review : Education of Alice Wells by Sara Wolf

What a nice quick read to start a day! I’ve always been a huge fan of Sara Wolf ever since the Lovely Vicious series, and when I learned about her other upcoming standalones, I just had to have them. Of course, The Education of Alice Wells was not an exception.

The book’s main character is Alice Wells, a college student who finds herself boring and normal. She finds enjoyment and fun in studying, and would rather submerge herself inside a classroom or a library instead of a party. Although she tops her classes and aces her exams, it doesn’t really earn her any friends and is made fun of as a “robot”.

“I’m still boring and focused on school as ever. But in a house with a Mom who only looked at me if I brought home a good report card, it was something I just grew into. School was my life. Where other girls found joy in movies and fashion and friends, I found it in numbers and facts. That’s how I’ve always been. It didn’t get me a lot of friends.”

But aside from her love for studying and all things school-related, she actually has another hidden interest.

“I think of Theo – Theo, the only boy with enough courage to approach me, to speak to me like an equal instead of a disdained alien or a piece of meat. Theo, the only boy to ever smile at me, to compliment me with true sincerity.”

But of course, Alice knows nothing about boys. She has had the biggest crush on Theo, but she hasn’t made any single move about it.

This is the part where Ranik Mason comes to the picture, the king of bad boys in Mountford University. Under certain circumstances, Alice was put to a situation wherein she suddenly comes up to ask for Ranik’s help to become more “attractive” to start catching the attention of Theo. She worries that her “robot” looks will get her nowhere near Theo. Ranik, being the charming and arrogant being he is, agrees to this. But in exchange, Alice needs to do his homework and help him in his schoolwork, especially since his grades have been flunking. They both shake in into this “pact” and have officially agreed to help each other.

But of course, we all know what happens in stories like this…

“I can love you better. I promise you, I can love you more than he ever would. I already do. Just gimme a chance.”

Anyway, I’ll stop spoiling the good stuff. I’m rating this book 4 stars because as much as I enjoyed this, I did have a few issues with it. First was Ranik’s accent. I loved Ranik and found him really sweet, but there’s just something about his accent that I can’t pinpoint that’s kind of bothering me. Second, I believe that the relationship between Alice and Ranik could’ve been written deeper, much more apart from their physical attraction. Third, I’m REAAAALLY hoping for a better cover. Lastly, I think there’s still room for a better characterization build-up!

But aside from those issues, I really did enjoy this book! Can’t wait for another Sara Wolf book!